Having enjoyed a number of laps of the track on the Saturday, Monday was a full on track day organised by Dave Mills and Luc Noel of Northern California RacingClub. It was way over subscribed, but they promised me some laps during the lunch break again, and also some passenger rides during the day (In the US, passengers are allowed in the cars on track days, like in UK).
So with the thought of getting some quick laps of the track, I got there early, and managed to find Jared Feekes from Skip Barber who kindly lent me one of their helmets for the day. And I was advised to look for rides with the "Red group" - namely the faster, more experienced guys. Hmmm, there is a red dot on that cars windscreen - "Excuse me, any chance of a ride ?" Sure, jump in. Only a GTS Viper !! And Rich Taylor knows Laguna Seca pretty well, and his Kumho slick shod Viper handles SO sweetly - I am stunned as he throws it around almost as if it was an Elise. And the Corkscrew and Rainey curves at speed - Unbelievable !! And the grunt from that big V10 up the (surprisingly steep) main straight - Makes a puny V8 look pathetic !! I couldn't stop grinning for the whole 20 minutes.
Then it was lunch time, and Sandy the "Pit Policewoman" led me around - Her in her Corvette, and me in Elsie. Now with a few high speed laps under my belt, I was able to really appreciate the complexities of the track a lot more. Just great to drive it again - Thanks for giving up your lunch break Sandy.
After lunch I managed to get a pax ride in Jeff Ragio's Supercharged Exige, and that too was a great drive. He too knew the track really well, and I spent the whole time trying to keep my arms and legs under control in the corners so they weren't in his way. (Jeff, you left before I could say thank you for the ride - I hope I have your name right as you weren't actually listed in the entries - Car 16 was a black Supra or something, so I am assuming they just got the car name wrong ? But thank you anyway if you read this.)
And to Jim the flagman for inviting me up into the start/finish box hanging over the track, a big thank you too,
More excellent photos, including ones of me in the Viper, but unfortunately some of them are on a DVD so I cannot post them at the moment because my travel computer doesn't have a DVD drive. Will get them later.
But another great day at Laguna Seca - I honestly feel I have "done it' and my trip is now really underway !! Thank you everyone, organisers, officials, and competitors, for being so VERY friendly and helpful. It all made for a fantastic experience that far exceeded any expectations.
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/LagunaSecaDay2?authkey=Gv1sRgCNii4OCztY7IJw#
